Cali, the world capital of Salsa 💃! What to say about this place? Bit hard to write this one as the near week I spent here has all been a bit of a blur it I’m being honest, my time has been mostly split between doing Salsa in the evenings either group or private classes and/or going out to Salsa clubs.
The Salsa is quite fun but at the same time feels like it’s all it really is to the place and also going out to the clubs has been somewhat intimidating with the ol’ Agoraphobia kicking in when it gets too rammed to be able to really move. All in all has been quite fun though and I think I’ve improved quite a bit on that front.
By day I’ve done a few walking tours to get the lay of the land but haven’t really ventured around that much in the day. This is mainly because Cali gets very hot and muggy when the sun comes up and most people stay indoors until dark with the city waking up from about 7pm onwards. There are a few decent bars nearby but if you want the true Cali experience you need to get an Uber to one of the large Salsa clubs.
So what happened on my first day? After getting in and getting the lay of the land I go out to eat but before I do I ended up speaking to a Dutch lady in my hostel and we end up making plans to go hit a salsa club. About 10.30 we go to to a place called La Topa Tolondra, it is good fun we dance together and with some locals. I end up getting an Uber back about 1am and turn in. Not a bad start.
Next day it’s the Cali history walking tour, this is quite interesting as they talk about how dangerous Cali used to be with the cartel wars and how now it is trying to reinvent itself as a tourist destination since the early 2000’s, the tour ends at this monument which is a testament to Jairo Varela of Grupo Niche – this world famous salsa orchestra putting Cali on the map as the Salsa capital of the world through their music. Jairo passed away in 2012 and this place is a shrine to him. I chat with a Dutch fella on the tour and we agree to meet later in the viajero hostel where he’s staying.
I go to meet him and there’s a salsa class on though a little too late to join so I get a beer and wait for them to finish then we go out to eat, unfortunately he doesn’t come out for more salsa as he says he had a bad burger last night and was suffering from Delhi Belly. The rest of that evening I hit a few local bars but end up meeting some other folks in the viajero and we end up going back to that salsa club together though this time it was rammed and hard to move round so I sort of bailed after an hour.
Day 3 here was another walking tour about the history of how salsa was brought to Cali from Cuba and how they embraced it as part of the culture here. Part of this tour shows a lot of muralism and how muralism became a symbol of resistance against oppression after some of the darker events of Colombia’s History – an event where several students were killed during a protest. Evening I went to salsa class the viajero hostel then went out with a different group of travellers to a different salsa club and stayed there till about 1 am.
Days 4 and 5 I went to private salsa classes but didn’t do much else in the day. Day 5 I went to ‘Salsa’ street with a group from the viajero hostel but couldn’t get into the grove with that many people stopping you from being able to move easily.
Day 6 I had a rest day and didn’t do much of anything and by then was salsa’d out and went to find a normal bar which I did, found a good rock music boozer and met a cool Aussie expat fella and his missus, he has been here for 5 years married to a Colombiana. We had some good conversation and he gave me some useful tips for the upcoming Peru leg.
Day 7 and our last day here followed the same pattern as 6 and I once again met up with my new Aussie best friend in the evening. I had a pretty early one that night and the next morning was out and on to Popayán.
Yeah so all in all that sums it up. I didn’t mind Cali but I personally didn’t have as much fun as others would say it is here. Before the trip I do have a friend who knows this place very well who had been thinking of coming down to meet me but unfortunately he was tied down with other stuff. Would have been a different ball game if you were with us for this one Marcus.
Oh well es lo que hay! On to Popayán!
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